Submachine Guns are automatic rifles or pistols that fire pistol caliber ammunition. The credit for the first submachine gun will be bestowed on the Thompson SubMachine Gun. Even though the Germans (or their nefarious friends) were also secretly building submachine guns after WWI (MP-18, ...) and significantly advanced the technology in the years building up to WWII, the Thompson was first to be used in some quantities by both criminals and law enforcement in the US during the roaring 20s. With Elliot Ness and Frank Nitty shooting it out weekly with TSMGs on our TV screens as the FBI struggled to control the Chicago mob, how could we pick anything else?

Submachine guns are also said to be of certain generations and this attempts to explain their technology. To be brief the generations begin with high precision milled construction machined and assembled by highly skilled technicians (time consuming and expensive), progresses to stamped and bent sheet metal by factory workers (cheaper and mass produced) and finally, advanced polymers and other high-tech materials for advanced adaptability and missions.

This page is arranged by country of origin and then commercial/military submachine guns. Navigate the Price Charts by clicking the thumbnail image or highlighted title for full-screen charts and use the arrow icons to move within chart groups.

USAMACs were once entry level subguns. They probably still are, but at $6,000 a pop, that’s getting to be a steep price of entry. - For “A MAC History Lesson” click here.

GermanyH&K NFA conversions are a confusing topic. A good explanation is a series of articles by Thomas T. Hoel titled, “The Mechanics of Heckler & Koch NFA Conversions” available here.

The chart labeled ‘MP5 Compare’ compares MP5 sear guns to clip-on trigger group guns to swing-down trigger group guns. As can be seen, there are significant price variations depending on the trigger group configuration or type. Note that similar variations exist across all H&K guns.